AfriGeneas Discuss! Forum

On Friday, the Senate approved a nearly $4.6 billion settlement for African-American farmers and American Indians who filed claims against the federal government more than a decade ago.

The Pigford II settlement included nearly $1.2 billion for 70,000 to 80,000 African-American farmers who faced discrimination in the awarding of loans and aid by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Timothy Pigford, a black farmer from North Carolina, was the original plaintiff in the lawsuit, which resulted in a payment of more than $1 billion to 16,000 farmers, many of whom received approximately $50,000. The current bill has been held up in the Senate for months because of a disagreement between the House and Senate on how to fund the bill.